Tuesday 12 December 1665

Up, and to the office, where my Lord Bruncker met, and among other things did finish a contract with Cocke for hemp, by which I hope to get my money due from him paid presently. At noon home to dinner, only eating a bit, and with much kindness taking leave of Mr. Hill who goes away to-day, and so I by water saving the tide through Bridge and to Sir G. Downing by appointment at Charing Crosse, who did at first mightily please me with informing me thoroughly the virtue and force of this Act, and indeed it is ten times better than ever I thought could have been said of it, but when he come to impose upon me that without more ado I must get by my credit people to serve in goods and lend money upon it and none could do it better than I, and the King should give me thanks particularly in it, and I could not get him to excuse me, but I must come to him though to no purpose on Saturday, and that he is sure I will bring him some bargains or other made upon this Act, it vexed me more than all the pleasure I took before, for I find he will be troublesome to me in it, if I will let him have as much of my time as he would have. So late I took leave and in the cold (the weather setting in cold) home to the office and, after my letters being wrote, home to supper and to bed, my wife being also gone to London.

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Annotations

[ Evelyn’s hospital/prison ships are needed by the King to fetch coal ]

Mr Evelyn

Navy Office Greenwich

12 December 1665 (2)

Sir

His Royal Highness hath commanded, that the Golden hand and Prince William (3) be imediatly sent to New Castle to fetch Coales for the poore of the Citty of London (4): I doe therefore entreat you that if they have any Dutch (5) prisoners now onboard them as I am told they have you will please to thinke of some fitt place for the removal of them unto, and to cleare the shipps of them that we may in obedience to his Royal Highness’s comands see the said shipps imediatly proceed on the forenamed service: I am

Your affectionat Servant

SPepys

Source: Pierpont Morgan Library (catalogued as: ‘[No MA number]. Collection: Rulers of Europe’ under Pepys). Endorsed by E, ‘Mr Pepys Navy-Office 12 Decr -65’. An oddity of the MS is that the date of both letter and E’s endorsement have quite clearly been altered, and by the same hand; it now reads ‘12’ in both cases but may have originally read ‘7’ or ‘17’.

2 MS: ‘Navy Office Greenwich 12 December 1665’ at foot of letter. Notwithstanding the observation in note 1 above, Pepys recorded writing his letters late this day, just before going home for supper but not too late for them to be dispatched as E seems to have replied the next day (diary).

3 MS: ‘Wm’. See A16, note 5.

4 ‘The weather setting in cold’ (P’s diary, 12 December 1665). P had also recorded, on 13 October preceding, that he encountered Albemarle, William, Earl of Craven, and Alderman Sir John Robinson, Lord-Lieutenant of the Tower ‘talking of ships to get of the King to fetch Coles for the poor of the City, which is a good work. But Lord, to hear the silly talk between these three great people...’ (diary; see Latham and Matthews, VI, 264, n.3, for additional references on this topic).

"...but when he come to impose upon me that without more ado I must get by my credit people to serve in goods and lend money upon it and none could do it better than I, and the King should give me thanks particularly in it, and I could not get him to excuse me, but I must come to him though to no purpose on Saturday, and that he is sure I will bring him some bargains or other made upon this Act, it vexed me more than all the pleasure I took before..."

Prisoner of one's own success...And the ruthless Downing not one to take no for an answer.

He baack! No more tidbits from Holland -- did they expell him? A singularly unpleasant Harvard grad; it is a pity they named a street for him. His name is now forever linked to Britain's prime minister (at least as long as there is an England).

It would be “a new venture in English public finance” (L&M) in which bills would be paid by the Exchequer on credit, bypassing the Treasury, denying Carteret his poundage and other profits..... http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1665/10/25/#c26...and apparently put the whole financing of navy supplies on the novel English equivalent of what has become the "full faith and credit" of the government (represented in this case by the Clerk of the Acts).